


Bring Food Back to the Mate

by ObtuseOctopus



Series: Living in Hue [4]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/F, Feral Behavior, Feral Gems (Steven Universe), Fluff and Angst, Gem Egg Hell, Gemlings, Gen, Multi, Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:09:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26774173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObtuseOctopus/pseuds/ObtuseOctopus
Summary: • COMPLETE. •Peridot starts to understand where some of Lapis’ hormonal instinct during her pregnancy is coming from, especially after an incident involving a lizard.
Relationships: Bismuth/Lapis Lazuli (Steven Universe), Bismuth/Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe), Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe)
Series: Living in Hue [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1615498
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22





	Bring Food Back to the Mate

_“Okay. So heat is when an animal, such as a cat, is in fertile conditions-... oh. OH. WOW.” Peridot scrolled through her tablet. Her entire face darkened. Her eyes went wide._

_“How about we don’t look up what it means?” Lapis suggested, taking the tablet away._

_“What?! This is SCIENCE! Lapis, science may be uncomfortable but it’s better to be educated instead of always uneducated because the truth is uncomfortable!” Peridot reasoned, taking her tablet back._

_“I don’t think I follow here,” Bismuth frowned. “There’s no way I did something like… that.”_

_“You don’t remember because your hormones-“ Lapis started arguing._

_“I would remember anything, hormones or not. We’re Gems, we can’t have hormones,” Bismuth defended herself._

_“When were you made?” Lapis questioned._

_“I was kept in a chest-“_

_“That’s not what I’m asking. When were you made?”_

_“I’ve been around for at least a century or two.”_

_“That’s soooo specific,” Lapis grumbled, annoyed with the response._

_“What’s the point?” Bismuth sighed. “What exactly is going-?”_

_“If you want to know, I was in heat, and we got together,” Lapis hissed. “Now I’m pregnant, you two are involved-“_

_“How do you know it was us though? It makes no sense that we wouldn’t remember-“ Bismuth intervened._

_“I KNOW BECAUSE I JUST KNOW! You two were the last Gems I was with! And if you both aren’t…-!” Lapis grabbed at her blue hair, trying to calm herself down. “If none of you are fertile, then that means you AREN’T who I was with! What’s so confusing about this?!”_

_“Everything!” Bismuth said. “Lapis, something like this is…”_

_“Maybe we can figure out-“ Peridot spoke up._

_“I know this sounds fucking crazy, but you need to listen to me!” Lapis furiously begged. “This is REAL, it HAPPENED, and now-!” She threw her hands into the air. “... Nevermind. I’m sorry I bothered you guys.” She summoned her wings and took off without another word._

_“... Um… did Lapis… did she seem a bit out of character lately or is it just me? I mean- she cursed with non-Gem words,” Peridot commented._

_“Whatever’s going on, I think we need more information,” Bismuth crossed her arms. “You don’t know anything like what she was talking about, do you?”_

_Peridot shook her head. “Nope!”_

_Bismuth hummed, dumbfounded._

_“If she’s pregnant, that means her body is carrying babies, which require the nutrients from the host to grow, and they’re produced by physical fertilization with two gametes. But that’s…” Peridot set her tablet down with a shrug. “We’re light masses, so I don’t exactly understand-.”_

_“That’s what I’m saying,” Bismuth agreed. “Does it really matter how long we’ve been around?”_

_Peridot bit her lip. “I’m gonna go find her. She sounds scared and confused. I’m gonna go help her.”_

_“What if you can’t help her?”_

_“Then-! I don’t know- I gotta try, don’t I?” Peridot frowned. “She’s my friend…”_

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


_She’s my friend…_

Peridot blankly stared at the unmoving lizard in front of her. She had done that. She had somehow… gotten this poor Earth creature and…

“Peridot!” Lapis called for her in the distance.

Peridot flinched. She kicked the lizard away, then she rubbed off her mouth with the back of her hand. “I’m over here!” She answered, checking to see if the lizard was still there. The poor thing…

She had… done that… Why? How? What was happening to her? She’d seen Lapis sometimes act odd or give iffy actions like sniffing things or growl or suddenly convert to all fours but-! 

“Where were you? I was getting worried and I-...” Lapis seemed out of breath, her hand on her chest as she worked on breathing. Gems didn’t necessarily need to, but of course Lapis was a special case at the moment. Carrying offspring would take up a lot of her energy, and it sure required additional minerals and nutrition to ensure a healthy clutch.

“Were you-? LAPIS! You can’t run while you’re-!”

“Well I can't fly like this, so what do you want me to do?” Lapis scoffed.

“Stay at home!” Peridot whined. “And stay somewhere safe! Somewhere warm and… where nothing can harm you or the babies…” She crossed her arms.

“At least come back with me now,” Lapis proposed. “I didn’t know where you were and I… I got scared.” She closely examined the smaller Gem. “Are you hurt?”

“No! Nononono, I’m fine,” Peridot said. “I was just-... out for a small stroll getting some fresh air!”

“Peridot, we have air all around us.”

“Yeah, but… have you smelled the air out here? The O2 levels are much cleaner,” Peridot made up an excuse.

“Just come back home with me. Please.” Lapis’ hand quivered as she reached out to hug the technician. “... Did I do anything…-?”

“No! You didn’t do anything- Lapis, I support your decision. I’m not going anywhere neither am I abandoning you,” Peridot promised. 

“I’m sorry- I just…” Lapis scratched her head. 

“It’s a weird time right now, I know,” Peridot empathized. “But you’re okay. Are you doing okay?”

“Yeah…” Lapis glanced away. “I sometimes get cramps, but… I’m pretty okay.” 

“That’s good.” Peridot hoped that Lapis wouldn’t catch on to what had happened earlier. Her eyes momentarily stole a look towards Lapis’ belly, then she sighed. “I’m sorry I scared you. Let’s go home.”

“Before it gets dark,” Lapis nodded in agreement.

The two strolled off together side by side. The entire walk back to Little Homeworld, Peridot couldn’t help but think about the lizard. Its dead eyes and its limp body… a small green lizard from a common species but still a living creature it had been previously nonetheless. She did some more research later that day, unable to shake off the sight. She didn’t tell Lapis, neither did she plan to unless it became an issue or at a later time when Lapis was less stressed. After all, it sounded pretty normal for a sire animal to go out and hunt for their expecting mate, such as with some bird species. If she had only been listening to instinct… surely it was normal? Perhaps she had gone feral and hunted that lizard down in means of bringing it back to Lapis, who was currently pregnant and needed the extra protein.

Either way, the image remained on her mind. She hoped that there’d be no more incidents like this in the future. If this was the kind of thing Lapis dealt with daily when it came to hormones or instinct, Peridot was beginning to understand her bit by bit. And yet... it was terrifying.


End file.
